Promoting Independence of People with Intellectual Disabilities: A Focus Group Study Perspectives from People with Intellectual Disabilities, Legal Representatives, and Support Staff: Promoting Independence of People with ID

People with intellectual disabilities (ID) commonly struggle with managing their affairs, while they consider it important to be independent. This study aimed to gain insight into the perspectives of people with ID, legal representatives, and support staff on promoting independence in this population. Two focus groups were conducted with people with ID (n = 7), two with legal representatives (n = 13), and three with support staff (n = 17). Topics included the meaning of independence, the current level and needs of people with ID regarding their independence, and what they perceived as barriers and requirements when wanting to promote independence in this group. Possible outcomes of a greater independence of people with ID were also discussed. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed qualitatively with a general inductive approach. According to the respondents, people with ID require support from others, but most want to be more independent. Various barriers are experienced when trying to promote independence. These concern barriers at the level of support staff (e.g., lack of time), family (e.g., taking over tasks), and of the persons with ID themselves (e.g., emotional difficulties). When promoting independence in this population, more support and time seem necessary, as well as a clear, step-by-step tailored approach and good communication between all parties involved. Last, several advantages (e.g., greater self-worth) and risks (e.g., overestimation by others, greater exposure to hazards) were proposed that could result from a greater independence of people with ID. As this study showed that people with ID generally want to become more independent. This stresses the need for the development of interventions, which could benefit from the findings from this study.